Shadowed
by Warrior of Ice
Summary: For Crystal Tokyo, the senshi have given up their careers, their family, and their chance at love for the rest of the world. This time, they've lost their wish to live. Can the re-emergence of the generals bring back a semblance of their original selves?
1. Prelude and Chapter 1

Shadowed: Prelude  
  
Kino Makoto gazed across the vast wastelands where sparse, dry brown grasses were the only indicators of long-destroyed life. So many things had changed since the twentieth century: the environment, the definition of life and humanity...and the senshi themselves. Even Usagi, whom they had tried to protect from the horrors of their new lives, had not remained unchanged.  
  
Now, as Neo-Queen Serenity, with her Mamo-chan as Neo-King Endymion, she dealt with the remnants of the government and people of the world. Meanwhile, the senshi patrolled everywhere, with the meager military that was more like a colonial militia. And then on Saturday...Makoto smiled bitterly as she thought about Saturdays, The last day of the week, the senshi returned to the Crystal Palace, dressed as princesses, and danced with diplomats. The situation would almost have been funny if it hadn't been true. The four senshi spent the other six grueling days wiping out stray youma and daimons, barely in possession of proper utilities (namely running water and toilets), and then on Saturday, they dressed in silk, unbloodied or torn, and danced. They waltzed, smiled, and gossiped as if they had nothing else to do but look pretty and adorn the throne room.  
  
Shaking her head as she knelt in the sandy dirt, Makoto sighed as she remembered the painful events of the past few years.  
  
Ami had been the first one to submit to hopelessness. Now she worked like a machine, bringing in the sick and dying, treating them as best she could, and burying more than half of them. She lived for the senshi and Usagi, being as useful as she could, but held no real enthusiasm for the world except when she was around Usagi. There, at the Crystal Palace, the petite blue-haired woman continued to act cheerful and lively, but the others saw through the useless facade.  
  
Rei and Minako had gone away for around a month to the far north-east to do some damage control. No one knew what had happened there, but the senshi had returned drastically changed and refused to recount the episodes that had occurred. The dark-haired senshi was still spiritual, but it was kept in the confines of her soul. The bright-haired and natured senshi leader had lost her eternal spark during that trip to unsaid terrors. Rei, in turn, no longer seemed to possess the previously unquenchable fiery spirit that had characterized her as Mars. They were as tired and soul- weary as Ami, but Minako still tried to keep their team together. They all lived for duty, with souls ravaged beyond healing.  
  
Now Makoto was the only one left. She still wished for happy times and wanted to fulfill their original dreams of peace and contentment. She still wanted to find love, to have children, to make a new life for herself. The first blow had come when they had had to give up their respective careers. Then the second heavy strike to their hearts ha came when they had become orphans, like Makoto herself. Usagi's parents and younger brother, Rei's grandfather, Minako's parents, and Ami's mother (no one knew about her father, and she wasn't bothering to look for him) had all died for one simple, cruel reason: they had been related to the senshi, and the senshi deserved to suffer. That was the only goal of revenge.  
  
Shadowed: Chapter 1  
  
Aino Minako, or Mina Aino, as she was more popularly known in this day and age, sighed in annoyance as she was disrupted for what must have been the fiftieth time that morning. Fingering her short, lackluster shoulder-length tresses, Minako was promptly lost in memoirs.  
  
She had hacked off almost all of her shining, past floor-length tresses after she had discovered the nearly-fatal mistake of having long hair. Rei had quickly followed her example, being a first-hand witness to what had happened: a particularly venomous daimon wielding knife-tipped claws had grabbed Venus's golden strands of hair. She had hung upside down, determined not to scream, incapacitated by the searing pain of having her hair ripped out by the roots. She had been unable to do anything except hang there, waiting for the others to come.  
  
And when they came, things got worse. Mars's fire arrow had enraged the daimon, and as he dropped her, he had clawed a long, poisoned gash in her head. Mercury had been reduced to desperation, trying to remove the foreign poison and stop the blood flow at the same time from the deep cut. For two weeks, Minako had drifted in and out of consciousness, always registering Ami or Usagi's concerned faces before falling into the dark once more. Only a few times did she remember seeing Rei and Makoto, because they had been busy working with only a team of two senshi.  
  
At the end of the second week, Ami had rarely been present, returning only one or twice to check that there were no other problems or complications and to give Minako a quick check-up, because she was occupied with helping Mars and Jupiter. Usagi, however, had no such duties and had been glued to her side, chattering her fears for her friend so vociferously that it gave her a headache at times. While Minako hadn't considered it the singularly worst experience of her life, it ranked fairly high on her long list of things that had occurred during the building of Crystal Tokyo. Crystal Tokyo, Utopia defined in a whole new sense: the world gone wrong.  
  
Mamoru had later said he had seen her only when the senshi had first teleported to the palace, bringing her to the infirmary. He apologized for his absence, having had to deal with the news leaking out about the senshi commander being injured, along with the normal ruling business while his wife stayed at Minako's bedside. Usagi had also said that Mamoru had been staying up entire nights in deep contemplation over something he refused to talk to her about. The only thing she knew was that it had something to do with the Silver Millennium, and she couldn't think of what it might be. While Pluto had restored all their memories of their first lives, no one had had the time to go through them thoroughly–they were just there, accessible when they needed to be and quiet otherwise.  
  
The Outers were on shaky terms with the Inners, proving recalcitrant in refusing to acknowledge Venus's rightful position as commander. They barely returned to the Crystal Palace, and then it was only to see Usagi and Mamoru. They have spectacularly good timing, Minako thought to herself sourly, always managing to visit when they wouldn't run into the Inners. But they haven't changed, either, the blonde thought bitterly; we've just become as ruthless and cold-hearted as they always were. We should never have let them raise Hotaru.  
  
Suddenly, Minako realized that someone else was in the room with her and had been for a very long time. Cursing her inattentiveness that could have gotten her child, she scolded herself inwardly. She was senshi commander and long-used to dangerous surprises. Why had her attention wavered after so many years of harsh training to make it stay on task? Opening cornflower blue eyes, she exhaled quietly and asked, "How long have you been here?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," the other woman replied equally softly. "You were thinking about your hair, weren't you."  
  
Minako smiled ruefully at the not-quite question. "I know it's a weak point. I was just...indulging in memories. The usual."  
  
"Do you think I don't understand, Mina-chan? I know what our hair meant to both of us and what it symbolized. Only Pluto has long hair now, besides Usa-chan."  
  
"Damn her," she said. Rei didn't need to ask who she was damning, just nodded mutely. "So what's up?"  
  
"The usual. D-17-32." Roughly, the purple-eyed woman's response translated to: daimon-seventeenth-sector thirty-two.  
  
Reaching inwardly for her senshi persona, as the senshi's transformation sticks had been decimated a while ago, Minako asked, "What, again? And in that area? I thought we were getting rid of them...seventeen this week? The number's a little out of the normal range."  
  
Mars appeared without ceremony, seemingly unconcerned. "We'll have Mercury double-check the stats. I wouldn't worry about it, though. This is our life now: hunting down daimons. They exist to make life harder for us."  
  
~*~  
  
Firing a precisely-calculated fog blast into the clearing between the enemy and Jupiter, Mercury's gloved fingers clicked smoothly, efficiently, and amazingly on the keys of her minicomputer as she murmured emotionlessly, "You're late."  
  
"Sorry," Venus replied tersely, "what do you have on this one?"  
  
"Female, spider-like form, main power seems to be an electric green web that will eat through anything and everything it touches. Very strong defenses, level three daimon."  
  
The third senshi nodded thoughtfully, familiar with this level. Five was the highest level daimon. Three were slightly tricky but not that hard to beat. The problem was their excellent defense strategies that differed slightly with each particular creature. Keeping an eye on Jupiter, who seemed to be doing all right with her lightning reflexes, she asked quickly? "Any weaknesses?"  
  
Bringing up a new scan with a quiet beep, Mercury replied, "Well, if the web is acidic, a well-placed blast of water might weaken it enough for us to try and destroy it. However, its weak spot is shielded very well. Plus, you're never supposed to add water to acid–it's the other way around. I'm not sure what will happen to the daimon. I'll also need some distraction from your part."  
  
"We'll take the risk and distract it," Venus said. They had almost never gone wrong on Mercury's advice. "Crescent Beam Smash!"  
  
"Supreme Thunder!" The first senshi on the scene smiled in tense relief. "Great, reinforcements."  
  
As the green-suited sailor's blast struck the daimon sideways, it squawked and rolled over, giving the blue-suited scout her opportunity. "Aqua Illusion!" When the spider-like creature failed to stop, coming on mercilessly to the one that had hurt her, Mercury summoned her harp for her most powerful attack. "Aqua Rhapsody!" The daimon continued to scuttle forward, grinning sadistically. Unhindered by the Love Chain around one of its legs and a fire arrow in another prat of its body, it reared up and squirted out a fresh blast of web. Jumping aside, the senshi hesitated in her new position for one split second. Wouldn't it be nice, she thought to herself, to let herself succumb to the darkness overtaking their world? She could just let it get her, and there would be nothing left to worry about. Feeling a brutal pain across her collarbone and neck, Mercury's resolve for life returned a second too late. Screaming as her flesh was eaten away by something with the pH of hydrochloric acid at its strongest, she could barely see through the haze of singeing pain until she realized that something had cut the web away.  
  
Jupiter stood before her, sliding a knife back into her subspace pocket, tiara sparkling with thunder. "Oak Evolution!!!"  
  
The creature was stopped for a moment, preoccupied slightly by its new injury. Shrugging, it screeched when new attacks from Venus and Mars came. Gasping, Mercury summoned her energy once more as she saw its weak spot plainly in her vision. But suddenly she couldn't see with the hurt from the acid web, fading into unconsciousness from the pain...and the image of the daimon before her wavered, one becoming two, two becoming three...then disappearing entirely to be replaced with empty black. Closing her eyes, she ignored the other senshi and their alarmed cries. She had learned a very long time ago to focus, despite injury of broken bones. It was far worse this time, but she had the skill, didn't she? Opening her eyes once more, the senshi found herself swimming in a world of brilliant blue light. Clasping it all close to her, she gathered it into a sphere, not bothering to aim as she used all her senses to tell her where her target was. In one outwards motion, she hurled it at the daimon, then collapsed into relieving darkness. But before it came, a strange new prophecy passed before her eyes.  
  
~*~  
  
Mars remained in sector thirty-two, making sure that all traces of the daimon were evaporating and that none of its brethren were around. Venus and Jupiter, meanwhile, waited for Serenity to heal their fourth partner. Once the meatball-headed queen came out, smiling tiredly, they went in, while she went to rest, supported by her husband.  
  
Ami sat on the bed, buttoning her top, looking extremely pale. Venus detransformed and stopped her with one hand, running her fingers across the broad scar that stretched from her neck across to her left shoulder. "Is this permanent?" When she nodded wordlessly, Minako sighed and buttoned the shirt for her. "Tell me what happened out there today."  
  
"Mina–"  
  
She cut Makoto off with a look, waiting patiently for Ami's answer. The blue-haired woman sighed, pulling on a lab coat over her clothes. "I just slipped for a second, and my inattentiveness and clumsiness resulted in a permanent scar. Yes, I've learned my lesson, and no, it will not happen again. Are you satisfied, Minako?"  
  
"No," the blonde said sharply, "it can happen again, and you know it. I want to know what was running through your head when you stopped moving. You could have avoided it all. I want to know what you were thinking."  
  
"You know," Ami whispered softly, holding her gaze unblinkingly. "We all do, except Mako-chan. Every day we live another day is not a blessing. It's a curse. We protect this world-but for what? For the people? They spend every minute whining about how we failed them and how we could have prevented the Great Freeze. Do they really care that much if we survive? I don't care if we survive anymore. I don't even care if Usagi-chan lives. If she dies, she'll still be with Mamoru-kun. We have no one in this world but each other. And we're breaking, Mina-chan. There's no hope for us. We can't even stand against a simple daimon anymore, and we don't have Moon or the crystal to help us. We always depended upon her and the crystal, didn't we?" she asked bitterly. "Well, that did us a lot of good, didn't it. We were reborn four some-odd times, and what good did it do us? We looked forward to being doctors, chefs, priestesses...we looked forward to this future called Crystal Tokyo. Did we get a Utopia? No. We just got the living version of hell. And pretty soon, we're all going to end up in the more orthodox version."  
  
Horrified, the brunette woman stepped forward, protesting, "Ami-chan, stop it! You can't mean that. We'll fight-"  
  
"We'll fight until we die," Ami said coolly, "what are we living for? We'll die soon, and then the rest of the world will go with us–unless Usagi- chan does something else extraordinary with that damned crystal. And do you know what happens after that? We're called upon to protect the universe again! That's our whole life, don't you understand? Fight, fight, fight. Well, I'm tired of fighting. Mako-chan, I should thank you for saving me. Now I can go and fight more, when that's the last thing in the world that I want to do."  
  
When Makoto began to cry, Minako fixed Ami with a steely gaze. "You listen to me, Mizuno Ami, senshi and princess of Mercury. We have a duty to this world, and we fight till we die. Yes, we'll probably die soon, but we'll go down fighting–just like Artemis and Luna taught us to do. Do you understand me?"  
  
"I am no princess."  
  
Minako turned on her heel and left after receiving a nod of agreement from the other woman, straining to keep herself under control. And in that room, Ami sat in silence, thinking. Makoto cried next to her, but neither spoke.  
  
~*~  
  
A few thousand feet away from Crystal Tokyo, the dark slums of the world began: the world left behind. People were starving and living off whatever they good, dying left and right from starvation, dehydration, and disease. Relief efforts from the Palace could only feed so many people, and even Serenity and Endymion were starting to run low on food. There were not enough workers to build greenhouses and do any of the work necessary for farming. But there were still some people...some people that had determination and courage. Some people that fought to survive. And one of them was Jadeite Higashikaze, and he was no quitter. He would be someone who would live in this harsh would. His mission: find a partner and sneak into Crystal Palace to do his job, which would pay quite a hefty sum of money.  
  
~*~  
  
In the urban center of the world, nearest to the Crystal Palace, business still thrived. But crime and illegal actions were rarely condemned, and no one was sure whom to trust. Violence reigned supreme, and anyone who didn't care a gun was considered a stupid moron that didn't want to live. Nevertheless, a trace of humanity and civilization still remained...although no one was sure whether it was to break or save the world. Not that there was much of it left...  
  
"Yo, Nishi!"  
  
Zoicite Nishikaze turned around, annoyance written in every angle of his handsome face. "What do you want now? I finished everything you wanted, and I deserve a break," he muttered, green eyes snapping in anger.  
  
The balding man scurried forward quickly, balancing a humongous stack of papers and manila folders. "Got a job for you." Before the blonde could protest, he retrieved a sheet of white paper with directions and one extremely large sum at the very bottom. "Look at the pay before you do anything."  
  
Glancing down as he reluctantly reached for the paper, Zoicite, or Nishi, as he was more popularly known in office, barely managed to keep breathing. "What the hell do you think you're pulling on me?"  
  
"I'm not pulling anything," the other retorted defensively. "From...the boss."  
  
Eyebrows slanting downwards, Nishi nodded shortly and headed to an isolated office in the busy building. Every section was bustling with people except for this one... "Kita."  
  
"Nishi. I told you to stop calling me that."  
  
"Why'd you send me this? What do you really want, Kita?"  
  
Kunzite Kitakaze sat back in his chair, smiling slightly as he touched the tips of his fingertips together. "Let's just say that it's a secret...and you know what happens if you won't do this for me, Nishi. I'm paying enough."  
  
"I don't give a damn about what you're paying. I want to know what's going on here," the shorter, slimmer man demanded.  
  
Powerful muscles rippling, Kita stood up and grabbed his shoulders, slamming him hard against the wall. "I give the orders here, Nishi. You aren't satisfied? You can walk out that door and into the street. Understand? Now do what the sheet says and stop wasting time. You have approximately forty three hours and twelve minutes in counting." Ignoring the stream of very developed vocabulary issuing forth from his mouth, the silver-haired man laughed with real amusement. "Get out, Nishi."  
  
"I hate this world. I hate this life. But I still want to live. How ironic is that?" Shaking his head, Nishi headed out onto the street, on his way home...where his equipment was so advanced and dangerous that it was more than illegal, if such a thing was possible.  
  
~*~ 


	2. Chapter 2

Shadowed: Chapter 2  
  
Jadeite Higashikaze had watched the blonde man work tirelessly for days, barely pausing to eat and drink–in fact, he _didn't_ bother to eat, just drank. Dark circles were under his eyes from going almost a week without sleep, and he was almost dropping off, but he was determined to finish the job. Smiling to himself, Higashi tapped on the glass a few times, very loudly.  
  
When Zoicite Nishikaze looked up, his eyes widened to see the person dangling outside the building at two in the morning, and he immediately pulled out his gun. Opening the window, he made sure his finger was on the trigger and demanded, "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing outside my window?"  
  
"I'm spying on you, Zoicite. Or perhaps I should call you Nishi."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"A partner. If you stop pointing your gun at me and let me talk. I'm Jadeite Higashikaze, call me Higashi. I've been sent on a mission..." When he finished his story around half an hour later, he asked plaintively, "Can you let me in now? I'm getting tired of hanging out here. Besides, someone might shoot me. And trust me, if I'd been meaning to kill you, you'd be long dead. Do you realize that you're so absorbed in your work that you haven't noticed me peering in? I had to tap quite a few times before you heard me. I was about to smash through the glass."  
  
Glowering at him, Nishi lowered his gun and stepped back. As he hopped in and closed the window fluidly, the other man nodded to himself and smiled. Perhaps there was merit in his suggestion...and Nishi hated doing dirty work by himself. "How much do you know about me?"  
  
"Everything," Higashi replied nonchalantly, dusting off his hands, "but it's your friend Kita I'm interested in."  
  
"Kita's an interesting fellow. I wouldn't call him my friend, though. We're acquaintances. And he's my employer, to boot."  
  
"True, true. Treats you better than most people, though. Hasn't killed you in the five years you've been working for him. And you're familiar enough to call him by his nickname."  
  
"It's more of an alias," Nishi offered, still not willing to give up the verbal parrying.  
  
Sighing, the other said, "I'm normally a very patient man, Mr. Nishikaze. But I'm afraid that we're going to run out of time soon. Now, will you do this mission with me or not?"  
  
Looking at his emotionless blue eyes steadily, the blonde finally sighed and nodded his acquiescence. "All right." Holding out his hand, he warned, "You'd better not cross me, though."  
  
"Who, me? Never. I don't cross people. You trust _me_ on this one. Have you hacked into their security system yet?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm almost through to the files we want."  
  
Smiling, Higashi said, "It's nice to know I'm included now. Are you covering your tracks? You know that senshi of Mercury has a high level of intelligence. I bet they expect leaks like this all the time."  
  
Shrugging, he replied, "Yeah, but I've been told she got hit by an acid blast from some daimon recently, from my ah...sources, let's say. I've been careful enough but not too careful. She's probably laid down for a month or so."  
  
"Suit yourself. I understand perfectly about your 'sources.' By the way, you ever heard of a Minamikaze?"  
  
"Yes. The world's heard of him. Not that there's much of the world left."  
  
"Just checking. He's a dangerous fellow, I've heard. Don't know him personally."  
  
Neutrally, Nishi responded, "So's Kita. I'm just glad that I trust him–marginally."  
  
"Do you trust me?"  
  
Green eyes shining with amusement, he shrugged again and laughed softly to himself for a few minutes, sending chills up the other's spine. Finally, he replied, "Marginally, as well."  
  
~*~  
  
Higashi panted in exertion, sweat dripping down his well-muscled form. Glaring balefully across the long room at his newly-made partner, he would off his cramps, panting heavily. The other man was seated, headphones on his ears and visor over his eyes, fingers tapping speedily away at the latest simulator. He got his models upgraded nearly every two months from past favors and Kita's influence. Walking over to the thick glass wall, he tapped insistently to get Nishi's unwavering attention. Still not looking away the screen, he held up a hand to ward off the distraction, frowning darkly at something. After a second, he glanced up very slowly, seeming paralyzed. Turning from a medium tan-gold to pure white, he mouthed noiselessly, "Get in here."  
  
Feeling a ball of ice form in his gut, Higashi obeyed. "What happened?"  
  
"Someone's discovered that I've hacked into the mainframe computer...it looks like they haven't found me, but I'll have to get a new access sequence just in case. They've changed all the codes–and I thought we had enough solving them every two weeks!"  
  
Trying to keep his cool, Higashi kept his eyes emotionless, carefully moving aside a jumble of tangled wires on his bed. "How long will it take you to crack them?"  
  
"At least three days. They're a lot more complex than the others were."  
  
"Too long. It's got to be now, before that senshi recovers. We're positive Venus and Jupiter will be out, and Mars can't be that hard to disable. What about the King and Queen?"  
  
"Where are you going?" Nishi asked, raising an eyebrow as the other pulled on his jacket and boots.  
  
Smiling rather crookedly, the blonde retorted, "To make a deal with an old 'acquaintance' of mine, to borrow your delicate and politically- correct phrasing. You stay here and decide what to do with Purple and White."  
  
Disliking the odd note in his voice, the green-eyed man shivered slightly. Readying himself to send an e-mail to one of the diplomats the rulers would be meeting with (who owed him a favor), Nishi called, "Who are you seeing?"  
  
Looking back, Higashi's tall frame drooped slightly. "Minami."  
  
"Nephrite Minamikaze?! You're crazy! And you never told me you knew him intimately, calling him Minami..."  
  
"Let's get some things straight. I _don't_ know him _intimately_. I've only met him once, by chance. And why didn't I tell you? You never asked."  
  
~*~  
  
"Kunzite Kitakaze. Zoicite Nishikaze. Jadeite Higashikaze. Hm....this is very interesting. North wind, west wind, east wind. Now, where does the south wind fit in? Kunzite, Zoicite, and Jadeite. Each of these are mineral names and can come in a slightly greenish form...again, very interesting."  
  
"It's an interesting world, master."  
  
"Yes, it is." Long fingers tapping idly, he ordered, "Now leave me in peace."  
  
"Yes, master."  
  
A dark smile spreading over his features, the man whispered, "I'm coming for you, old fellows. Old stones. You might say that the devil has come to collect...and a very crafty old devil he is, too. Not crafty enough, though, it seems. If I were truly as smart and as powerful as they say...otherwise I would have realized it long ago..."  
  
"Master?"  
  
"What is it _now_?"  
  
"Someone is here to see you...surprised the guards. Jadeite Higashikaze, master."  
  
"Ah...so the first has sought me out. How fortunate and convenient for me. Let him in."  
  
~*~  
  
"You _didn't_ tell me you were working with him. You _didn't_ ask my permission," the silver-haired man raged.  
  
Impatiently, holding the receiver with his shoulder as he double- checked his equipment, he replied, "You didn't ask."  
  
"Don't smirk. It's not becoming, and I can hear it in your voice. Are the plans set in motion?"  
  
'Thirteen hours, twenty minutes, fifty-four seconds and counting. The wheels are rolling," Nishi reeled off, rolling his eyes in exasperation about their code phrases.  
  
"I'll trust you, then, and not ask anymore questions."  
  
Sullenly, the blond-haired man muttered, "You should."  
  
"Right," he answered pleasantly, "now, the discussion is closed, and good luck. Hope you'll be around to talk to in the future. Stop sneering."  
  
"Your confidence astounds me," Nishi remarked dryly. "Good bye."  
  
~*~  
  
Jadeite shivered slightly as he slipped into his tight black clothing, which was bulletproof, waterproof, fireproof...the list went on and on to ensure his safety. He recalled his meeting with Minami all too well, and although the brown-haired man had agreed to what he wanted in the end, there was something distinctly disturbing about him and his uncanny, dark blue eyes. Securing his mask, he checked to make sure that all his weapons were in their holsters. Only his azure blue eyes were visible...  
  
"You ready?"  
  
Turning around, the blonde nodded curtly to the other. Nishi would be staying in their headquarters, monitoring his status and communicating with him through an ear and mouth piece. Using the codes Minami had cracked for them, he had been able to hack into the Palace Security and had created a direct link to the security feeds. He would see the entire palace and be able to throw in a few system errors and bugs that would ensure that Higashi would not be seen. "Yeah."  
  
"Good. See you."  
  
"What, you're not going to wish me luck?"  
  
Nishi raised an eyebrow sardonically, a habit he knew the other hated. "You want me to wish _you_ luck? It should be the other way around. You're the best-trained and most famous assassin of all the Outreaches...and you want luck."  
  
Acidly, he commented, "I prefer 'professional hit man.' So nice to have compliments and free praise. Until we meet again."  
  
"You better hope we do. If we don't, Kita will have my head. And probably that Minami friend of yours, too." As he left, scanning the crowds surreptitiously, the blond-haired man settled back into his chair after making sure the doors and windows were locked and covered. Fingers flying across the keyboard, he pulled up the blueprints of the palace, a well as monitors of all entrances to the palace. "Hi–you check?"  
  
"Yeah. Of all the other codes in the world...you had to choose hi?"  
  
"Well, it _is_ the first part of your name–besides, it's very fitting. You like fire, and that's what it means. If you ask me, you need a good scorching."  
  
"I just had one, two weeks ago."  
  
"Thanks for sharing."  
  
"It's not my fault you prefer silver-haired, dangerous men."  
  
"Excuse me. I prefer _women_, thank you."  
  
"What about that little thing with–"  
  
"Shut up. It was the only one. Now concentrate! Now, the East End entrance...it looks like a flat crystal wall, but go up to it and use that first crystal I gave you to find the door."  
  
Digging through his pockets with some very inventive curses, Higashi looked in dismay at the twenty crystals stashed on his person. "Um...what color is it?"  
  
Sighing, the other replied, "Clear. When you hold it up to the wall, it'll turn red if you've hit the door."  
  
"You gave me three clear crystals."  
  
"Which one did I give you first?"  
  
"I don't remember! You think I'd remember a dumb thing like that?"  
  
"Idiot! You're supposed to be a professional killer!"  
  
"Yeah, not some geek that keeps tracks of crystals and in which order they were given to him! How about I just try all three?"  
  
Blanching, Nishi tried to remember if anything particularly bad would happen if he used any of them... "Fine. Just hurry up, please. The guards _do_ make regular excursions around the perimeter, and one's scheduled to come in around ten minutes."  
  
Nearly dropping his crystals, he muttered a curse word and got quickly back to work. Meanwhile, back at "headquarters," Nishi sat bolt upright when he discovered another flaw in their beautiful, previously perfect little plan. Together, at exactly the same moment, they exclaimed, "S—!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I got the door!"  
  
"Great. The only problem is, someone's discovered the link...and we're about to get into some very deep trouble."  
  
"Oh, *obscenity*."  
  
"My thoughts exactly."  
  
"Is there anything you can do?"  
  
"Not really. If I cut the link, you die. If I don't cut the link, you die anyway."  
  
Sighing, Higashi slammed his head against the building and muttered, "Could things get any worse?"  
  
"You idiot! You touched the stupid building, and I told you that only the gloves on your hands could touch it without activating the alarm!"  
  
*beep, beep*  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"It's not my fault you're an idiot. Get moving. Try to get to the top of the spire."  
  
"Do I _look_ stupid to you?"  
  
Acridly, Nishi replied, "Do you really want me to answer that? No one's going to look for anyone on top of that crystal needle."  
  
"And do you know why? Because no one would be that stupid _or_ suicidal!!"  
  
~*~  
  
Rei shifted position nervously, eyeing the ambassadors greeting Endymion and Serenity. Somehow, Ami had managed to worm her way out of this appearance, and since Venus had insisted that Jupiter come along with her on some mission or another, she was obligated to make an appearance as the only choice. Currently, they were babbling on about food supplies and how they were interested in building more greenhouses...the only up side to this meeting was that it seemed there was a little hope for the world. A few greenhouses were beginning to succeed, with a little luck and some power from the Silver Crystal. Too bad she didn't think that the majority of the world was worth saving.  
  
'Rei-chan. We've got a problem with those inept morons in security. You have to leave right away and come with me.'  
  
Looking sideways at Serenity, the raven-haired woman nodded curtly to her king and queen. 'Usa-chan, Ami-chan says she needs my help. I'm going.'  
  
'Okay, Rei-chan. But try to be discreet, ne?'  
  
'I'm always _discreet_,' she replied dryly. 'What's the problem?'  
  
'Someone hacked into our database around a week ago, but I lost their authorization number when they realized what happened. And I changed those stupid codes, but those idiots obviously don't come up with new ones as often as they should! Now, we've got another leak, probably from the same person, and something's happened to the security cameras.' Sensing Rei's annoyance, she said, 'Exactly my sentiments. You want to do the honors of frying them, or should I freeze them?'  
  
Before she could telepath her answer, the alarm went off right above her head, and she pressed her fingers to her eyes. "Kami-sama!! We have to fix the volume of those things before we all go deaf!"  
  
Sighing, the other suggested, 'How about I take care of this hacker, and you deal with whatever idiot has set off the alarm this time?'  
  
'Deal. People seriously have no lives nowadays!'  
  
'What do you expect?' Ami asked acridly, 'it's Crystal Tokyo.'  
  
~*~  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Ah, we're back to these? I stopped this after a while, because I reread mine and decided they were embarrassing. However, I decided this chapter needs some clarification. Like, a lot of clarification. Questions! First, what happened to the senshi? I'm not telling yet. What happened to the world? Who's taking revenge on the senshi? To tell the complete truth, I have no idea. It isn't Nephrite, so stop glaring at him and me. Okay, time to address more questions. Um...isn't this world a little messed up? The senshi are dancing with people while most of the world is starving? *cough* Um...so there are discrepancies. So sue me (please don't). So, please give me feedback. ;; I never get any feedback anymore...*sighs* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the very strange and messed up chapter 2. I tried t throw in some levity, but I don't think it worked very well. Trust me, life gets deeper later on. the problem is, I don't know what's going to happen–the good thing is, neither do you!! 


	3. Chapter 3

Shadowed: Chapter 3  
  
Things had first began going downhill after the senshi and Tuxedo Kamen had had their starseeds stolen by Galaxia. Afterwards, although Usagi had done her best to ease their dark moods, nothing had helped or ever been the same. It was from this particular experience that the Outers decided that the Inners and their commander were incompetent. They had left without any warning, and Venus had nearly killed herself and all of them in the process with brutal training. When she had finally realized what was happening, she had retreated to a mountain resort that they all knew well, having utilized it as a training place before. There, she meditated, berated herself, and escaped from life and duties until the girls had decided that enough was enough and had dragged her out. One night, they had all had a heart-to-heart talk, and things seemed to be nearly back to normal and at peace...until the world began to freeze over and crystallize.  
  
Shortly before, the senshi had blossomed, albeit reluctantly, into young women. They had been on their way to becoming each of their chosen professions. As for martial status... Yuuichirou had finally gotten up the nerve to propose to Rei, and she had still been thinking over his offer before...before... Shinozaki had recently confessed his long-hidden feelings to Makoto, and they recently begun dating. As for Ami and Ryo, they had dated on and off after his first run-in with the Dark Kingdom. Surprisingly, just as the Deep Freeze had begun, they had been engaged to be married in another two years, when they would both have graduated.  
  
Unfortunately, before this could happen, the Dark Ages revisited began. As the sun's light began dying out, the oceans began freezing to form first glaciers and then giant icebergs. The food supply dwindled without sunlight, and plants could not sustain photosynthesis...thus, the world's already limited supply of oxygen decreased dramatically. The entire food chain fell apart as autotrophs were wiped out of existence; the most basic heterotrophs were next to go. Finally, humans were beginning to starve as the sun's light faded forever. Certain people who had had the foresight to see the crisis ahead had stored large amounts of unshared food. Some were also pointlessly charging high, unaffordable prices. Such were three aspects of human nature: the temptation of wealth, greed, and self-preservation. And then...the real darkness had fallen, and the senshi had been powerless to defend the Earth–just as the Silver Crystal had been.  
  
~*~  
  
"Mina-chan, why did you insist that I take this job with you?" Jupiter asked quietly as they loped off together in the dark, leaping over buildings in their way as nothing but dark shadows.  
  
Glaring at her, her companion said pointedly, "_Venus_, Jupiter. Even with Mercury's assurance that no one has planted any bugs on us, there are always eavesdroppers. You have to prove to me, as your commander, that you're up to being a senshi. We need to keep this team together for Serenity. I can depend on Mars, and Mercury's going shaky on me but is still dependable. _You_, Jupiter, have not given me faith.  
  
Shocked, the green-haired woman swung around. "What? Ami-chan almost let that daimon kill herself, and I'm the one who hasn't given you faith?"  
  
"We are no longer carefree schoolgirls. You have to be able to accept that. Even now, you're thinking about this man, aren't you? The connections he has in this world. His family. His friends. You can't do that."  
  
Jupiter flushed darkly, then shot back, "So what if I am? It isn't natural to take a life so casually."  
  
"It is when we defend Serenity."  
  
"If she knew about the things we did, she would be horrified."  
  
"But she doesn't, and it's going to stay that way."  
  
The other woman was shocked but refrained from saying so. It wasn't the first time something like this had come up between her and Venus. Her eternally cheerful, blonde friend had changed, and she wasn't sure if the old Aino Minako could ever resurface. The only time emotion showed in her cornflower blue eyes that held only cool practicality was when she was alone. Makoto had often come upon Mina, meditating by herself and fingering her now-short strands of hair. Jupiter reconciled herself to what they were planning to do tonight and inquired, "What did Mercury pull up on this guy again?"  
  
Pointing out the narrow precipice wordlessly, Venus pressed lightly on one of her earrings and answered, "Nothing besides the fact that his last name is Minamikaze and that he's known to the world as Minami. He's a very secretive and careful man. There."  
  
Slightly belatedly, her companion followed suit, and a green visor stretched across her eyes. In the years before Crystal Tokyo had come, the years before their lives had crumbled like civilization, before everything had changed, Ami had had the time to perfect her own visor and install the development in the other senshi's earrings. Jupiter smiled in soft remembrance, recalling how excited her blue-haired friend had been. But that was before...before everything. Always the same everything. The thunder senshi glanced into the apartment window and watched a brown-haired man pace his study fretfully. Suddenly, he turned to look straight at her, and she caught her breath as navy blue met forest green. "Mina-chan!!!!" she shrieked as she fell off the ledge in her surprise.  
  
Venus, although taken off-guard, reacted quickly and flicked her love chain after her falling friend. It encircled her waist just as Minami, who had leapt out his window when he had seen her falling, caught her. Leaping down, she glared at the man who held her friend tightly. "Let her go."  
  
"Why should I? I know what you two were here for, Sailor Venus. I'm honored that you thought I was so worthy an opponent that you needed to dispatch your commander along with another senshi." He bowed mockingly, eyes mirroring his amusement.  
  
Her eyes narrowed perceptively, and she asked, "Why didn't you let her fall?"  
  
Minami smirked slightly and replied, "Why don't you ask why I caught her?"  
  
"Venus..." Jupiter, so far silent, had been shaken by her long drop and near-smashing upon the pavement. She cursed her stupidity and clumsiness. But there was something she had to tell her before anything else happened.  
  
Without looking down, she snapped, "Hush. Minami. Why did you save her?"  
  
"I can't watch a pretty woman die, particularly not a sailor senshi. Imagine how distraught the world would be if one of their miraculous protectors was lost..."  
  
Her first reply was a string of obscenity that told him exactly what she thought of his patronizing tone. Her second was, "The world thinks we've forsaken them and that it's our fault all of this happened. As if _we_ burned out the sun. As if _we_ weakened the ozone layer. Just because we couldn't save the world once."  
  
Shrugging, Minami remarked curtly, "I would know nothing of this. The public is fickle like that. They'll cheer while you save them, and the one time you don't, they kill you for revenge."  
  
Venus blinked at his odd sentence before Jupiter reached out to her. "Venus. He's–it's–he's Nephrite."  
  
~*~  
  
Higashi shivered from his cold perch on the crystal spire. He couldn't move, and he was sure that if he was forced to stay clinging to the pole for a few more minutes, he would slid down. An irate senshi and at least fifty soldiers had come storming out of the palace, and the soldiers were currently searching the perimeter. The senshi, however, had stayed and was investigating the area suspiciously. She had found his crystal and was examining it thoroughly. He had no doubts that any movement now would attract her sharp glance. Figuring that he had no other choice, Higashi resigned himself to his fate of either falling to his death or being fried by the one he had deduced to be Mars and enjoyed the view from above. She was fire-haired, crimson-eyed, and as beautiful as the senshi were rumored to be: angels of death. But he supposed it was hard to be merciful in a forsaken world like this. He wondered exactly how long it would be before humanity perished, even with the mystical Silver Crystal that had previously solved everything.  
  
~*~  
  
Sailor Mercury had departed quickly and quietly into the night. She had activated her visor, and all her senses were alert as she searched for this hacker. He was bold, brilliant, but–sadly–all too trusting that the people in the computers department were stupid. She didn't deny that fact, but she thought he should have realized that senshi wouldn't be so unsuspecting. Then again, the world wasn't exactly fond of the senshi after they hadn't been able to save the world for the tenth time. A sad, twisted smile appeared on her lips, but her dark blue eyes remained bottomless and as cold as her element.  
  
~*~  
  
Nishi packed up his treasured equipment hurriedly. He knew that this time, someone would be after him, and he had been forced to abandon Higashi. If he hadn't, he would have been discovered by the tracery on the computers. He was just about to begin blockading the door when the window was crashed open by a turbulent stream of freezing water. Green eyes widened when a fuku-ed woman followed the attack, eyes blazing.  
  
As he dropped his stuff and prepared to fight, she laughed lightly, a sound that danced upon the air and his spine, making him shiver. "Do you really think you can fight a senshi?"  
  
"Well, maybe not, but I can always try." 'So much for our success, Kita,' the blond-haired man thought sourly, 'guess I _won't_ be talking to you again. At least you'll be saved the trouble of breaking a few ribs of mine.' Figuring that he was going to die anyway, he took the time to look over one of the legendary sailor senshi that few people had seen and lived to talk about. His eyebrows shot way above their usual placement as he looked at her shimmering blue hair and dark eyes that promised a terrible fate. Her nose was small and pert, lips the color of ripe strawberries against milky-white skin.  
  
"Who are you?" she called as they circled one another, her stride confident.  
  
He declined answer until he found himself lying against the wall, thrown there by a cyclone of water. Mirage indeed.  
  
Mercury stepped up to him until they were about one foot apart. "Who are you?" she demanded of him again, and he knew he wouldn't like the outcome if he refused.  
  
"Zoicite Nishikaze."  
  
Her extremely unexpected reaction astounded him: she took a closer look at his features, coppery blond hair, and intense green eyes. And promptly fainted.  
  
~*~  
  
"Nani?! Are you sure?" The blonde took another look at the man with her golden eyes.  
  
He, on the other hand, was unsure of the odd feelings he had. He had shaken off the strangeness when he had caught her, but now, when she said his name, familiarity struck the core of his being. "I thought you knew my first name, having come after me to kill me. Don't you know everything about me, where I was born, what my parents' names were?"  
  
They ignored him as she answered, "I'm positive. We remember the Silver Millennium, Venus. Look at him. It has to be him."  
  
Venus stripped the glove off her right hand in one quick motion, revealing old scars across the once perfect, dainty white palm. She reached out and touched Minami's chest, near his heart, before he could protest. They watched when a greenish stone materialized and disappeared again into his body. She sucked in her breath and frowned terribly. "Damn. He released them. Damn!! How could he be so stupid?!"  
  
Minami refrained from making a comment, although he was extremely unnerved–something that had not happened to him for at least fifteen years. He was covered in numerous cuts from jumping through a glass window, and he deposited Jupiter roughly into the other senshi's arms. "Here. Take her and go. You can kill me some other time."  
  
"I'll take you up on that," she snapped crisply.  
  
Jupiter stood up one her own, avoiding his curious gaze. "Venus, let's go. Please." She nodded, and they teleported away swiftly in a flash of green-gold light.  
  
~*~  
  
"Kita. Kita!! Open the door!"  
  
The silver-haired man appeared, half-dressed and looking extremely disgruntled. His piercing gray eyes widened when they took in his haggard appearance and the person he was carrying. "What the hell happened?"  
  
He glared at him and answered, "I told her my name, and she fainted. She was supposed to kill me. Now would you mind helping me save Higashi? And what should I _do_ with her?"  
  
"You're crazy. The other senshi will be able to trace her somehow, and we'll all die." Despite his discouraging words, Kita helped him carry the unconscious senshi in and place her on the bed.  
  
Hooking up his computers once more, the blonde man muttered sardonically, "We'll all die someday–why not today?" Waiting impatiently for everything to establish secure connections once more, he told him, "I think they found out about my hacking, but she doesn't appear to have taken anyone with her. And we thought she was 'out of commission.' Guess not." Nishi reached inside one of his packs and took out a syringe.  
  
As he spread disinfectant over Mercury's arm, the other asked, "What do you think you're doing _now_?"  
  
"We can't have her waking up to kill us. So this sedative should take care of things."  
  
"I was wrong all these years. You've already cracked, so there was no point in betting you were going to do so in five years."  
  
"So kind," he retorted dryly, wiping off the needle and turning back to his computer. "Higashi? Can you hear me?"  
  
Meanwhile, the blond-haired, blue-eyed man hissed into his speaker, "Shut up, Nishi! Do you want them to hear you?"  
  
"What's going on? I'm trying to get a visual, but I can't."  
  
"I'm still clinging to this damn spire, and there are about fifty soldiers scouting the perimeter. Luckily, Mars seems to have decided some idiot set off the alarm to annoy everyone and left. What happened to you after we disconnected?!"  
  
"A senshi came after me, the one we thought would be 'recovering.' The Neo-Queen must have used the crystal or something."  
  
"A senshi came after you, and you're still talking to me? You're right. You _are_ too lucky for your own good."  
  
Nishi shook his head, hiding his relief that his partner and friend was safe. He hadn't wanted to admit how much he liked Higashi and that he had grown accustomed to working with him. "Did I say anything about luck? We've got to get you away. So I'll work on seeing where the soldiers are."  
  
"You better. I'm going to fall soon."  
  
"Don't you dare."  
  
Higashi smiled weakly, despite his trepidation. "What, will you miss me, Nishi?"  
  
"Not one bit. I just don't want to have wasted all my time and crystals to see you and this mission go splat. The mission's already failed, but I can still get you back here. Go to Kita's once this is over, alright? You remember where it is?"  
  
"I hope. Will you hurry up?!"  
  
"I'm trying. Okay. Have you got your scanner up?"  
  
"Yes. Hurry!!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry. I'm trying. There's a big gaping hole in Sector D. You should be able to slip out. Look below you, there's a balcony about two stories down. Jump. It shouldn't kill you."  
  
Dryly, the blonde replied, "So reassuring. Nishi..did you check which room this was outside of before you told me to jump down here? I'm not suicidal!!"  
  
Blinking, Nishi looked at his computer and let loose a string of curses.  
  
Kita, so far silent, also looked at the computer but made no sense of the characters. "What's going on? Where is he?"  
  
"Outside the room of Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion...and they see him..."  
  
~*~  
  
AN: Okay, sorry about the cursing. But it's cleaner, ne? ^^;; What a wonderful place to leave off, I know. I don't know why Ami fainted. *shrug* Maybe she hasn't totally healed from her acid burns. Either that, or seeing your soulmate after more than two thousand years can be a shocking thing. 'Til next time. 


	4. Chapter 4

Shadowed: Chapter 4  
"Jadeite...how nice to see you again!" Endymion, still known as Mamoru among the senshi and Mamo-chan to his beloved wife, promptly scared the living daylights out of the blond-haired man by walking over to him and embracing him warmly.  
Higashi could only remain as stiff as a board on the edge of the balcony, blue eyes wide with amazement and fear. He turned paler when he saw Serenity smiling from inside the confines of the room as she watched them. Clearing his throat and backing away from the king, who had released him, he nearly fell over the edge of the balcony and was steadied by Endymion. Flinching at the hands of the king, he said, "Uh...don't take this the wrong way, but you're scaring me. When you hugged me and just now, when you stopped me from falling off this wonderful balcony here, I felt something very strange. And I _know_ I'm not gay, and although I don't know about _you_, I hope _you're_ not sexually-inclined that way." Rather belatedly, he stammered, "Your highness-King Endymion? My...my liege."  
While he had shocked himself into another silence after his rather incoherent words and a certain phrase which had origins completely unknown to him, the golden-haired queen beamed happily at her husband and chirped, "See! I told you they'd remember soon, Mamo-chan. It just took them a longer time to get here than we thought. You remember, don't you, Jadeite?"  
"Remember? Remember what?" It had been such a long time since he'd been called Jadeite...although it was his first name, he hadn't been called anything besides Higashi for over ten years. Ten long, abominable years of living in filth among the rats, nostrils filled with pungent stenches these royals certainly had never experienced. These recollections of his childhood made him remember not what _they_ wanted him to know, but rather, why he had come to this surrealistic Crystal Palace in the first place: to kill the king and the queen, stealing the miraculous Imperium Silver Crystal-or Ginzuishou-in the process. Such missions had been attempted before, usually ending in the defeat of the assassins and would-be thieves. Of course, no one had succeeded yet, and these campaigns had long been dubbed kamikaze missions-suicide missions. Usually, the Palace Guard stopped most of the desperate people who had no such luck or high-tech weaponry and tools on their side. For those better-trained and clear-headed killers, the senshi, who could be classified as such themselves, had dispatched them rather easily.   
"Oh, you don't remember?" Serenity's beautiful face held great sadness as her cheery mood had dampened. Higashi's right hand inched towards his back pocket when she declared, "Well, it's not that hard to remedy. All we'll need is some help from the Ginzuishou to restore your memories!"  
"Nani-?" was all he was to get out before silvery power, rather than blackness, overtook him. He never saw the hurt in Serenity's expression that she had to do this to him, never saw the pain in Endymion's eyes when he knelt down and picked up the steel knife that had fallen to the ground with a metallic clatter... Instead, Jadeite Higashikaze saw their past selves, his previous life, and his one true love-all of which had been stolen away by cruel fate, which threatened to do the same in this future.  
~*~  
Venus stalked the full length of the corridor of the East Wing of the palace, positively spitting with rage (at least, she _would_ have been spitting if it wasn't below her as a princess, a senshi , and a person who knew full well the benefits of cleanliness and sanitation). "Wonderful. Just-perfect. Exactly like this damned world. Jupiter has been psyched out by a Nephrite look-alike, who turns out to be Nephrite's reincarnation, Serenity and Endymion aren't responding to their communicators and have telepath blocks up, which would be extremely dangerous in an emergency situation, some baka with too much time on their hands decided to set off the alarms and got the _entire_ Palace Guard running around outside like chickens with their heads cut off-absolutely no order and without consideration for other parts of the palace! It would have been the ideal opportunity for another person against Serenity and Endymion to sneak in. And besides all this, some other person with even _more_ time on their hands somehow hacked into the security system not once but twice. The second time, they by-passed even Mercury's codes, and where is she? You said that she went off three hours ago to get rid of this 'minor annoyance.' Well, apparently she's not back yet, and we can't track her with computers or by our communicators. Damn. Something must have happened to hers. Are you absolutely positive you can't find her aura anywhere?"  
The raven-haired woman looked up tiredly, having long sunk to her knees against the crystallized hallway. Massaging her temples, she responded, "I told you, Venus, that I don't feel her anywhere. Either she somehow managed to teleport way out of my range, which can't extend beyond Crystal Tokyo due to that accursed Ginzuishou, or she's in the sector of the city we have the most trouble with. Would you please detransform? Your aura is extremely bright when you're in senshi mode, and it's burning my eyes."  
"You don't see auras with your eyes," the golden-haired one shot back, but when defiant purple met her own eyes, she sighed unwillingly and did as she had asked. "Tell me again about this particular sector? Why can't we detect anything in it again?"  
"It seems to be where most of the uprising and rebellion against Serenity and Endymion comes from. Worse, Ami recently managed to identify it as the metropolis of Crystal Tokyo. Whatever business left to be conducted can be done there, and you know everything's shady nowadays. There are trained and untrained killers skulking around, the most deplorable conditions people are trying to survive in, and basically where most of the remains of humanity are gathered. You went there tonight to kill Nephrite Minamikaze, and you didn't succeed. Maybe it has something to do with _him_." Rei shuddered inwardly as she said the name, a sense of deja vu and dread coming over her. If Makoto had been sure it was him, then other reminders-previously thought unlikely ever to return-would be coming back as well. Namely Jadeite. What she didn't know was that he was already in the palace.   
Minako frowned, musing over the information she had received. So they had left Nephrite alive, for now, and Makoto had been so shaken up that they had had to drug her for a night of sleep so her brain and wits would be in working order. Small wonder, she thought sourly to herself. She didn't even bother to sneer at the voice in her mind that asked her how she herself would have reacted if she had seen Kunzite. It was all too easy and predictable by now to say she would kill him in the blink of an eye, and she remembered how he had told her she possessed amazingly long eyelashes...no. Life would not be this cruel, to bring back resurfacing memories of the past that should have stayed dead. With a little luck, Minako could soon go to eternal rest herself-if that cursed crystal didn't bring them all back again to suffer through another lifetime.   
Back to Nephrite...chances were he and Kunzite knew each other, as well as the other generals (no doubt they were prowling around somewhere, praising themselves about their ingenuity). How unoriginal and unimaginative destiny was: there were no qualms in her mind that they were all together, planning against the Neo-Queen and Neo-King. Funny how she thought of them as "Neo-Queen and Neo-King" or "Serenity and Endymion" more and more often. When had they stopped being "Usagi and Mamoru?" It was the same old cycle over and over again, and Minako found it extremely unamusing. After all, they had already turned traitor twice, so why shouldn't it happen again? They say third time's the charm, she thought acridly. Perhaps the generals might actually be more than minimally victorious this time-and good for them. A nice parting gift of them to let her soul rest in peace. Unfortunately, she knew life was not so kind as to provide a clean solution as this: there would be deaths, more killing, more violence, more of everything...and the cycle would go on, and on, and on, and-  
"Mina-chan? Are you listening to me?"  
Rei's familiar voice cut into her thoughts, and she turned to look at the black-haired woman once more, in a daze. "Nani? Hai, of course I am. Tell me about this particular sector of the city again?"  
A skeptical glance said it all; she wasn't a bit fooled. "Of course, Mina-chan. But maybe you need some rest. I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow, and-"  
"Damn it, tell me now!" Minako snapped.  
"Fine. There are shields, unbreakable and strangely familiar shields, over the part of the Crystal Tokyo where Minamikaze lives. It's so odd...and we can't get through them. I have no idea if Ami's there or not, but that's the most likely place."  
"Either there or dead," she said hollowly.  
Another sharp darting glance, and Rei murmured, "Not very likely. We would have felt it, for one thing. And for another-do you really think that Ami would be that stupid? Or weak?"  
Letting heavy lids fall over her cornflower blue eyes, the other woman replied, "Not stupid or weak, but she almost let that spider-thing defeat her, if you'd be so kind as to remember that particular incident. She doesn't want to live."  
"Do any of us? Iie."  
"But we do it...for Serenity. And Endymion. Kami-sama, will anyone ever grant _us_ serenity?"  
~*~  
Kita sighed in exasperation, feeling the urge to punch through solid stone-and with his securely concealed powers, that was very possible, but he knew it was folly. It would hurt him, and besides that, he needed the meager protection offered by the walls. The past day and a half had been pure torture, devised by some higher being-not that there were many after Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion. First off, Nishi and Higashi and failed. The former had awoken him in the dead of the night carrying a senshi and most of the contents of his home with him. Higashi was in the hands of Serenity and Endymion, presumably dead or worse, and Nishi had been unable to get anything pertaining to his whereabouts. Their equipment had been programmed to cease functioning within thirty-six hours in case anything had gone wrong, and those thirty-six hours had passed. Nishi was gods-know-where, and he was left baby-sitting one senshi of Mercury (untied and unbound, free to do whatever she could or would) who would be waking up any minute (and to whom they had administered a sedative), and she would probably kill him within a few seconds of that momentous event. Speaking of which...  
Mercury groaned and sat up groggily, holding her head. "What...happened?" Within a few moments, her lucid blue eyes focused on the silver-haired man before her, and she asked, "Kunzite? Where are we, and what am I doing here?" Her equally and startlingly blue lashes lowered as a slight blush spread over her cheeks.   
He could only stare, flabbergasted. From Nishi's descriptions, this was not the cold, implacable killing machine that had come after him the night before full on confidence that no simple human could vanquish a being such as herself. Was it all a ploy, this queer shyness and demureness? It was definitely merely a trick to fool him into complacency. But what if it was not pretend? No. Nishi must have done something incredibly stupid and given her something besides a depressant, despite the fact that he had never made such a mistake before.  
"Kunzite? Is something wrong? Where's Zoi? Is he alright?"  
Kita blinked again, horribly confused. This time he picked up on the fact that she knew his first name, and to the world, Kunzite had disappeared and was only known as Kita, or even Kitakaze. And how in the world did she know Nishi? Besides that, why would she be calling him _Zoi_? "Um...Zoi is...uh...fine," he reassured her, smiling weakly. He was shocked once more when a brilliant smile spread of her lips, transforming her already pretty face into one of beauty.   
"Oh, good! I was so afraid for him before, you know." Mercury looked down at herself and was surprised to see her senshi fuku. "Am I still transformed?"   
Before he could say anything, her fuku (and hence the clothing she was wearing) disappeared, and he flushed darkly, looking away. That in itself also surprised him. What was it about her that threw him so off his normal track? Kita was no stranger to the bodies of women, but there was something about Mercury that tugged at his memory elusively.   
Ami sat before him now, in complete oblivion to his previous discomfort. "Where are we?" she asked again, brow furrowing delicately in confusion.  
"Um...the metropolis of Crystal Tokyo?"  
"Crystal Tokyo? I've never heard of the place. What a strange name. But how did I get here? And where's Zoicite?" A note of fear had come into her voice, and the pale blush of before had left her skin.  
He blanched apprehensively. She hadn't tried to kill him, and instead, she viewed him as a friend. She also had no problem with detransforming (nude) right in front of him, called Nishi "Zoi," and had no idea what Crystal Tokyo was. Yep, life definitely wasn't playing fair today. But then again, did it ever?  
~*~  
"Here," Minami smiled pleasantly as he pushed the decanter towards the blonde man seated across from him, "you look like you're in need of something strong to drink."  
He merely shrugged but accepted the flask and poured it into the cup that had been offered to him. After all that had happened, he didn't really care if it was poisoned anymore. Throwing back the drink quickly, he inquired, "D'you think Higashi's dead?"  
The brown-haired man looked at him as if he were crazy. "No. What are you, stupid? Think, Zoicite, I know you aren't _that_ stupid."  
"Damn you, stop calling me that. My name is Nishi."  
"No, it's Zoicite Nishikaze." He watched as Nishi poured himself some more to drink. He knew that normally, Nishi was not one for spirits, but Minami understood the need to get disgustingly, incredibly drunk-he himself had done the same thing last night and woken up with a splitting headache just that morning.   
"So why isn't he dead?" Nishi asked hoarsely.  
Minami pondered this interesting question and the answers he could give, the latter of which ranged from "Serenity and Endymion would never kill him" to "think of all the things the senshi could get out of him by torturing him." He decided to go along with the second point of view and stated blandly, "You're not thinking again, Zoicite. Oh, sorry, what was it again? Nishi. No, Nishi, there is much more for them to gain if they keep Jadeite alive and in control of his larynx. As long as he's audible and has a clear mind, there's a lot of information to be gleaned from him. Undoubtably, they're eager to question him about the fascinating crystals and devices he has stashed abut his person, as well as your entire plot against the Neo-Queen and Neo-King. Maybe they'll even want to know about Kunzite and me."  
Emerald green eyes narrowed for a moment before they subsided into the cloudiness of inebriation. Minami, meanwhile, smirked inwardly. Zoicite of the past and present (and it could be said that even the future could be included) could never hold his liquor. "We have to save Higashi," was what his mind came up with.  
The other man applauded him sarcastically. "Good idea, Zoi! Very good idea. I wonder why it couldn't come a little sooner? Why don't you finish your-what is it? Eighth? Ninth? drink and go home? Perhaps the ingenious Kunzite Kitakaze will be able to help if Mercury hasn't killed him by now, unlikely as that is."  
Nishi pulled himself together and glared at him with bloodshot eyes. Stumbling towards the door, he muttered, "I hate you, you know it?"  
"Yes," Minami replied pleasantly, "and good bye."  
~*~  
"Whoa...Nishi..what happened to you?"  
Glowering at the silver-haired, gray-eyed man, Nishi snapped, "What does it look like? I'm _drunk_. But besides that, I went to see Minami-Nephrite Minamikaze. He thinks Higashi's alive. They must have kept him for questioning, and we have to save him."  
Kita arched a skeptical eyebrow and said, "You're definitely not going anywhere. Do you think you're in any condition to save him?"  
"I'm not leaving him there. Oh, by the way, I thought you'd be dead by now."  
"So helpful," he replied dryly. "Why don't I go see what I can do at the Crystal Palace? It won't be that hard to take the place of an ambassador or something, and the Neo-Queen and Neo-King have meetings with them every other day, at least. You can stay here with Ami."  
Blankly, the blonde asked, "Ami? Who?"  
Pushing him towards the second room, Kita explained, "Mercury. Her real name is Ami Mizuno, Mizuno Ami, whatever. Apparently, she has absolutely no idea what Crystal Tokyo is, but she calls you 'Zoi' and seems very concerned about you. Good luck." Clapping the shorter man on the shoulder, he departed promptly, while Nishi scowled after him resentfully. A wonderful ending to a wonderful day.  
~*~  
  
AN: I almost typed "NA..." But that's what Ice is. Not applicable. It's not like I'm some type of make-up or something. Anyway, wasn't this a lovely chapter? Ami's stuck in the Silver Millennium (ah, did we figure that out?), Minako has sneaking suspicions about Kunzite, Rei is annoyed with everything, Makoto's out cold, Jadeite's with Sere and Endy, Minami's alive and got Zoi drunk, and Kunzite's about to go to the Crystal Palace as well. A beautiful scenario.   
  
NA2: Here's the part where I get...*shrug* not exactly flamed-complaints? At least, I _would_ get complaints if people e-mailed me. But they don't. At least they vote on polls, though. I'm very partial to polls myself. Anyway, I'm only continuing Shadowed at FF.net, because it's received good reviews. The only problem is, I don't have it planned out very well, and some things don't fit. So I may be revising or deleting it very soon....you are forewarned...gomen nasai. ;; 


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